Hangin' Around
by Kalico37
Summary: After Drake strikes out with yet another girl, he struggles to figure out his next move. So he turns to someone unlikely for advice. Rated T for mild coarse language use, but mainly just to be safe.
1. Grow Up

******DISCLAIMER: I do not own Drake and Josh or any original characters/locations/etc. from the show. I lay claim to the plot and the two OCs encountered in 4 or 5 chapters from here.**

**So, first fanfic for me ever :) Read and review to your heart's content :)**

* * *

"What?! You can't just dump me!"

"Actually Drake, I can, and I am, because you are the worst thing that's ever happened to me! You need to learn to grow up at some stage in your life, so that the next time a shit-storm rains down on you, you can see it coming early enough to find an umbrella!" Traci yelled as she stormed out of the Premiere, leaving him in shock, and very much alone.

* * *

Drake Parker stormed furiously into his room, to find Josh sitting on the couch, typing out a report. Feeling a need to let out the pain coursing through him, as well as his brother's irritating, casual nonchalance, Drake walked over to Josh, picked up his laptop, slammed it down onto the coffee table, and climbed into his bed.

"So I take it things didn't go too well with Traci?" Josh's clearly annoyed voice came to him.

"Terribly," Drake spat, "she dumped me, after we've been going out for three months! And why? Because, according to her, I need to learn to grow up!"

"Gee, what a shock," came Josh's biting, sarcasm-laden reply, "Look, Drake, it's been five months now, and you've had four girlfriends, who all dumped you. Do you think maybe it's time you actually took their advice for once and tried to improve?" When no response came from Drake's bed, Josh added, "Never mind".

"Look, whatever, alright?" Drake said, to shut down the subject, "Why should you understand, when your last girlfriend dumped you over a science project."

"Hey, she didn't-"

"I don't care! I'm going to sleep," Drake said irritably, "Turn out the light, will you?"

As the light died, Drake couldn't help but feel as if another chapter had closed in his life.

* * *

The next morning Drake was grabbing books out of his locker when he heard an unfortunately familiar voice pipe up behind him, "So Drake, Josh told me what went down with Traci, and even if he hadn't, it's the talk of the school anyway. So what killed you this time? Commitment issues? The parents? Did you laugh at something that wasn't funny? Did her ex-boyfriend with the 17 tattoos come after you?"

"Grow up, Mindy," Drake sighed, "Run along and climb back down the hole in the ground you came from, will you?"

"You're telling me to grow up?" an amused Mindy Crenshaw replied, "That's big talk, coming from someone who has a long rap sheet for doing things which any normal person might consider childish or downright idiotic, don't you think?" Drake dared not answer, still gathering his books. "As a matter of fact, I'm willing to bet that Traci dumped you because you did something childish or downright idiotic, and you have the audacity to tell me to grow up? Very classy, Drake. Maybe this time you'll take your own advice before you start trying to wreak havoc on another girl." Mindy turned away and walked off to class, and as Drake finally got his books together and closed his locker door, he started to wonder that maybe these people had a point.


	2. Shoot

When Drake made it home from school later that day, he said nothing to anyone. He simply walked up the stairs, entered his room and fell on the couch. It had been a trying day, to say the least, because everywhere he had gone, all that anyone could talk about was 'Drake and Traci', as if they had nothing better to do. Between the waves of judgement rolling from Josh, and the sardonic barbs Mindy had been hurling in his direction, all Drake wanted to do was curl up in a ball and lie in bed for a few days. Too bad it was only Wednesday.

Drake was in no way interested to go back to the Premiere after what had happened only a night ago, but Josh had kicked him out of the house for the night, because he was hosting a study group, and Drake felt like he would rather go back to the scene of the crime than the jail sentence.

He was sitting at a table by himself, absent-mindedly stabbing a French-fry with his fork, and ignoring the losers who kept snickering at him from the other tables. The length of his boredom knew no bounds, which became evident to him when he started throwing fries into the air, trying to catch them with his mouth. _God, let something interesting happen to me tonight…_

"Well, well, if it isn't 'Grown Up' Parker," the voice of Mindy Crenshaw said to him, as he closed his eyes and sighed heavily, "Fancy seeing you here tonight. Bit of a bold move, coming straight back to where it all happened after only one night, don't you think? Even more interesting, I don't see any vapid airhead sitting with you. I commend you for your courage," she jabbed, mock-clapping with the last line. Drake was about to tell her to beat it when he decided to make a move even bolder than any that Mindy had described.

"Mindy, sit down," he said, pushing out the chair next to him and motioning for her to join him. She found herself at a loss for words, but sat in the chair. Drake surveyed her for a moment, when something clicked to him. "Why aren't you at Josh's latest gathering of the nerd committee?"

Mindy rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'd only ever go if I needed to, which is why I'm here and not there tonight," she said, annoyed, "What do you want?"

Drake couldn't believe he was doing this. "I need help. I was thinking about what everyone's been saying to me lately, you included. I feel like at some point recently, the doors have been starting to close on me. I'm getting nowhere in anywhere at the moment, and I'm feeling stuck. I can't talk to my parents, because they don't take me seriously. I can't talk to Josh, because he's useless with that sort of thing. But I know that you're…brutally honest, so maybe that can help me out." _Did I really just say all that?_

Again, Mindy found herself at a loss for words, but kept her cool. "Um, okay then," she chuckled nervously, "Shoot."


	3. A Deeper Contemplation

**I know Drake seems a bit OOC so far, but hey, he's trying to better himself! Anyway, new chapter, from Mindy's POV now, set about a month after the previous chapter.**

* * *

Mindy Crenshaw walked along the streets of her neighbourhood, not really headed anywhere in particular. She was _supposed _to be heading home to her parents, but she needed time to think, away from their suffocating attitude.

She and Drake had been hanging out for about a month now, and it had been an interesting experience for her the whole time, partly because he hadn't tried to put the moves on her. When she had asked him about it, he shrugged and simply said, "I don't know. I guess it's just not what I'm after at the moment," which surprised her, but in a good way.

She had been walking fairly slowly, and, deep in thought, had lost track of the time, so she started to walk in the direction of her house, all the while remembering the first time she hung out with Drake, back at the Premiere all those weeks ago. When he asked her to help him, she could hear the pain in his voice and see it in his face. So she had helped him. He asked to her to be honest. So she had been honest.

* * *

"_So, what do you think?" Drake asked after he finished his explanation._

_Mindy had to think about it for a second. "Look, Drake, I'm not going to say that you're not infuriating to the point where I want to punch you in the face, because I do feel that way, well, most of the time. In a nutshell? I think that you seriously need to take the advice that I and everyone else I know has been giving you: grow up," she flatly stated, and before Drake could object she continued, "That doesn't just mean acting like a child, but that is part of your problem. You need to get serious, about everything. You can't keep trying to coast through life and school, dating your moronic fangirls every week, thinking it'll be fine, because that's not how it works." She let her words sink in, and she studied his face, expecting him to insult her and storm out._

_But Drake didn't look mad. He was intent and focused. "What do I do, then?"_

* * *

Mindy smiled, remembering the help she felt she had given him that first night, and walked into the house, where the first thing she heard was a lot of noise coming from the living room; her mother chastising her for being late, telling her to get a move on with her studies, and various other orders she had learned to tune out. As she walked up the stairs to her room, she looked at a photo that had been taped on the wall, and felt a sense of dread as she remembered another, less pleasant night.

* * *

_Mindy walked through the door at 8:17pm, exactly 17 minutes after her curfew. She had been hanging out with Drake again, and had quickly lost her bearings on the time. She was hoping to quietly close the door and rush up to her room when a shrill voice called out and she stopped like a deer in the headlights._

"_Mindy! Where have you been?" her mother yelled, furious._

"_Mom, I was just-agh!" Mindy began, but was cut off by a sharp slap to her face, and fell to the floor. Her mother stood over her, looking imperious, and started yelling at her. Mindy slowly got up, tears streaming down her face, trying to block out what her mother was shouting at her. She ran up the stairs with her mother behind her, who grabbed a photo from the wall and threw it. The frame caught the back of Mindy's head while she ran into her room, causing her to stagger as she shut the door behind her. She heard the glass and frame smash when it hit the ground, and fell onto her bed, sobbing hard and silently._

* * *

Mindy remembered how Drake had reacted when she had told him about that night. He had stayed silent in concentration, holding his tongue in fear of saying the wrong thing in such a delicate situation. She hadn't even mentioned that it wasn't the first time something like that had happened.

Mindy had been pushed to strive for perfection her whole life to the point where she felt like she was standing on the edge, and she never would have expected Drake to understand as much as someone like Josh, but when she saw the genuine concern on his face, it made her feel a little less alone, and that brought the smile back to her face.

* * *

**A bit of an insight into Mindy's life at home, slightly darker compared to the two chapters before. So, three chapters in :) reviews are love, and much appreciated! Stay tuned :)**


	4. Break It Down

**Back with another chapter :) trying to get a daily thing going here, just because I can :P Set a month after the previous chapter, just in case of any confusion.**

* * *

"Hey, I better start heading home, or my parents will be on my case more than usual," Mindy said, checking her phone and getting up. "But I'll catch you tomorrow, right?" she asked, with a hopeful look on her face.

"Sure, I'll see you around." Drake smiled back before adding, "Remember what I told you, okay?"

Mindy looked back as she exited the Premiere, giving Drake a small wave before she left. Drake sat back in his chair, sipping his Mocha Cola as he took some time to think things over. Two months ago, he would never have even thought about changing anything in his life. Two months ago, if someone had told him that his next close friend would be Mindy Crenshaw, he would have probably laughed in their face.

But a lot had happened in those two months. He had been a wreck when Traci left, because for Drake, it was another in a long line of failed attempts to make good of a relationship. It had shot his confidence to the point where he felt like maybe it was time to take a different approach.

That was where Mindy had saved him. She rarely pulled the punches when she was talking to Drake, and her advice had helped him find that new approach. He could still be that lazy, dumb guy who played guitar and charmed his way through life, but being on the outside looking in on Mindy's life had changed things. After all, Drake could see that she needed something new just as much as he did.

He had only found out about a week ago that her problems at home had actually been going on for years, and he knew how much she was struggling to deal with the pressure. So he gave her some advice of his own.

* * *

"_Trust me, Mindy, I know pressure. Like, when I'm performing, there's always the pressure of trying to get everything perfect, worrying about what my fans want from me, and that's not even half of it," he mused. "That sort of shit can get real intense quickly."_

"_So, what do you do then?" Mindy asked, frowning._

"_I let it ride. I mean, when I play my music, I'm playing for my fans, and I do it all for them. But if they really are my fans, they'll support me whatever I do on stage, and I know that," Drake said._

_But Mindy wasn't entirely convinced. "So you're comparing your fans and you to my parents and me?"_

_Drake laughed. "What I mean is, if they really care about you, then they'll get behind you whatever you do. It's your life, not theirs."_

_Mindy shot a sly smile at him. "Drake Parker, did you just use a metaphor?"_

"_Hey, I know stuff, I guess."_

_She laughed, and then looked at him again, smiling. "Thank you."_

"_Anytime."_

* * *

Drake got up to throw away his drink and was deep in thought, when suddenly someone in front of him turned around and collided with him, knocking them both to the floor.

He looked over and saw a dark-haired girl slowly stand up and walk over to him. She looked very punk rock, wearing black jeans, a leather jacket, and an attitude that screamed flair. She was looking very intently at Drake, who got up and found himself face to face with all that flair. They locked eyes, and Drake was waiting for a hard slap when she suddenly leaned forward and kissed him.

He pulled away, looking at her quizzically, and she gave him a flicker of a smile. "Hi, I'm Jessica."

* * *

Mindy walked through her front door, and again, was met by her mother yelling at her. She started to run up the stairs and escape to her room, but suddenly stopped. Sighing to herself, she walked back down and entered the living room, to see the older woman writing on sheets of paper and still shouting.

"Mom, I need you to just stop talking for a second, and listen to me," Mindy said, softly, but her mother stopped shouting and looked over, staring daggers at her. "I can't live with you and Dad constantly hovering over my head. I feel like I'm suffocating under all this pressure, and it's like I'm standing on the edge," she felt calm, and kept her voice level, even as her mother slowly stood up.

"Who are you to accuse-"

"I'm not finished. I hate living in fear of never being good enough, of never being perfect. It's the worst feeling in the world when the people who are supposed to care for you think that your best isn't good enough," her voice was rising slowly now, "I have been living like this for as long as I can remember, and it's killing me!" she felt herself starting to shout, so she took a moment to calm back down before continuing, "A close friend recently made me realise that nobody is perfect, but that's fine, as long as we be the best that we can be. And if you and Dad really care, you need to be able to accept that." She finished and stormed back up the stairs, furiously wiping tears from her eyes.

In the living room, her mother stood speechless, and wiped a tear from her cheek before sitting back down. She picked up her pen, but then put it back down, holding her head in her hands.

* * *

**Soooo, very interesting developments here...looks like Drake will be getting back into the swing of things, and after giving plenty of advice to Drake, Mindy's decided to take some from him... ****I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter, mainly to do with presenting Drake in a new somber light, as well as trying to introduce a new OC, so** let me know what you think so far people! :) 


	5. Intentions

**I know I said I would try and do a daily thing with these, but after doing 4 chapters in 3 nights I needed some time to reassess. Don't expect me to try and go daily again! Hopefully I'll have it finished for you lovely people before the week ends :)**

**This chapter is set about a month after the last one. Enjoy!**

* * *

When Drake slowly pulled up outside Jessica's house, he was nervous. Nervous about the relationship he had with this girl who had basically flown in to his life from nowhere. Nervous about this night in particular, because if there was anything that Drake had known for sure when they started going out, it was that she was volatile. She could swing from 'sweet' to 'withdrawn bitch' in a matter of minutes.

When he had first met Jessica in the Premiere a month ago, he immediately took her out for a dinner. Things had seemed pretty normal then.

* * *

"_So you just moved here?" Drake asked._

"_Yeah, I came from Sacramento about a week ago," she replied, "I have no idea who anybody is around here, and I'm supposed to be starting at a place called Belleview High tomorrow. My parents aren't exactly great when it comes to planning these sorts of things," she added, rolling her eyes._

"_Well, I go there. I'd be glad to show you around and help you meet some people," Drake suggested, masking the pride he felt with putting his new attitude to the test. Normally by now they would have skipped the date and they'd be in her room. Or the backseat of his car._

"_Wow, such a gentleman," she said, smiling. "So tell me more about your band."_

* * *

But as the month had wore on, Drake noticed that there were times when Jessica didn't want to have anything to do with anyone. When he had thrown her a surprise party for her birthday, she hadn't necessarily looked thrilled to be there. She had stayed, of course, but was distant most of the night, and when he asked her about it later, she got defensive very quickly and immediately dropped the subject. Drake had become smart enough recently to be able to tell when he shouldn't press the issue, so he backed off, and didn't say anything about it when she started acting like that again and again on occasion.

Which brought him back to this night.

Drake had recently left San Diego a week ago to play the club circuit in L.A. He wasn't supposed to be coming back for another couple of days or so, but he figured he'd give his girlfriend a nice surprise. He sighed and opened his car door when his phone started going off. "MINDY" the caller ID read. _Yeah, not really on my priority list now, _he thought, rejecting the call.

Drake walked up to the front door, knocked, and waited. Nothing. He knocked again and heard footsteps pounding down a staircase, and then the door opened to reveal a rather dishevelled Jessica. She stared at him for a moment, not long, but long enough to instantly make Drake suspicious, before throwing her arms around him and letting him inside.

"Drake, what are you doing here? I thought you were still in L.A?" she asked, trying not to sound worried.

But Drake wasn't fooled easily. Not anymore. "Uh, I wanted to see you again, I thought maybe we could go out tonight," he said, looking around the living room.

"Oh, well, that sounds great! But, I think I'd rather stay in tonight," she said, but Drake could hear in her voice that she was putting it on.

Drake was still scanning the room with his eyes when he saw the coat on her couch. He could feel his heart sinking, but walked up to the couch and picked it up. He looked at Jessica. "Nice coat," he remarked, "but I think it looks a bit big for you, and, I'm still wearing mine," he walked over to her, and he could see the shock on her face.

"It's not what it looks like, Drake," she said, avoiding eye contact.

Drake felt like his anger was about to explode out of his chest, "Oh, so you're not cheating on me, then?"

Jessica opened her mouth, struggling to find the answer, when another set of footsteps pounded down the staircase, and a man with blonde hair came into the living room, buttoning his t-shirt.

"Okay, babe, so I'll just get going…" his voice trailed off as he saw Drake standing in the living room with Jessica, looking furious. "Oh," he said, suddenly looking as nervous as Jessica. He walked over to them and extended his hand towards Drake. "Hi, I'm Sean. I realise this seems a bit awkward..." he said, his voice trailing off again at the last few words.

Drake ignored the outstretched hand in front of him. "How long have you been seeing her?" he said, in a seething voice that made the other two cringe slightly.

Sean dropped his arm back to his side. "Um, a month, I guess."

Drake couldn't take it any longer. He had to get out of there before he broke a glass bottle over both of them. "That's all I needed to hear," he said, and thrust the coat into Sean's arms. "Don't leave home without it," he said, his voice and face expressionless as he walked past the other man and headed out the door.

"Drake, wait!" Jessica called out and followed him, but he kept going until he was halfway across the yard, when he turned around to her.

"Goodbye, Jessica." Drake said with a mundane finality as he turned around again and headed to his car.

Every part of him screamed at him to act on instinct and do something about the other two, but he knew they didn't deserve any more of his energy. He knew that he should feel upset, or angry, but he wasn't. He only felt numb.

* * *

**And on that note, we now bid adieu to our lovable OCs in this story. Again, a bit of trouble writing this chapter, but I attribute that mainly to the difficulty I had in characterising the relationship between these two. But what's going on with Mindy in all this? What is Drake's next move, after crashing and burning yet again? Well, I guess you have to stay tuned! :)**

**Also, I can anticipate questions being asked about how Drake instantly got suspicious before he knew what was happening. I'd like to think that he would have been in numerous situations like that before, so he just figured what was happening. Sorry, but I couldn't find a good way to write it in without slicing up the paragraph and going on a tangent, so bear that in mind.**

**Oh yeah, reviews are appreciated as well :)**


	6. Interlude 1: Stepping Back and Forth

**Very quickly, the aftermath of "Intentions"...not the end, yet, so don't worry!**

* * *

Drake woke up the next morning in the backseat of his car. Groggily, he sat up and looked out the window, seeing the random neighborhood he had parked in last night, when he remembered why he was there, and a tidal wave of anger washed over him. He felt his anger abate a little when he remembered how he had handled the situation. No violence, no shouting, no pleading. He felt a little bit proud of how mature he had become, but the feeling was only for a moment, and he quickly felt sadness.

He was done with Jessica, he knew that for sure. There was no need for her to explain anything, because what else was there to say when someone practically says that your entire relationship was a lie.

But Drake could see that Jessica was only the beginning of his problem. He knew that the problem was ultimately him, and this had been another failed relationship to prove to him that he still hadn't broken much ground for himself, no matter what he believed.

With a heavy heart, he sighed and climbed back into the driver's seat, started the car and headed for home. He thought about the last time he had found out his girlfriend at the time had been cheating, and remembered how dramatic it had been.

He had confronted her, he had yelled and ranted on, and then he had confronted the other guy. Drake shivered at that particular part of the memory. Lots of yelling, from him, from the other guy, from the girlfriend. Drake taking swings at him. The other guy swinging back. The other guy falling to the floor, unconscious. Drake walking out on them both.

As he pulled into the driveway, he couldn't help but smile in retrospect. The memory gave him a bittersweet feeling. He wasn't proud of what he had done that night, but it made him feel better, knowing that he wasn't that same person anymore.

* * *

**Originally intended to be a full chapter, but I wasn't happy with the second half of it. So, I'm splitting it into two interludes. This is the first interlude (obviously) and the second interlude will be uploaded in probably a couple of days. Two more full-size chapters will go up sometime after that, which will end the story. **

**If this isn't done, dusted and published by the end of this week, it will definitely be around the start of next week.**

**I will take reviews if they're offered, so keep that in mind. I appreciate any feedback you people have :)**


	7. Interlude 2: The Call

**Second part of the interlude :) enjoy**

* * *

Drake stepped out of the shower, feeling infinitely fresher than he had waking up on his backseat. He stepped up to the sink with the mirror above it, and put his hands on the sink, leaning against it as he looked into the mirror.

"Drake Parker, this is your life," he sighed to himself, seeing his reflection do the same. He put his clothes on and went back to his room.

Drake wondered how much easier his life would be if he had never taken that advice from Mindy one night all those months ago. He wouldn't be dealing with all this shit, and he could go with whoever he wanted without needing to get attached.

But then again, it had been this situation that had taken him to her in the first place. He realised what he had to do.

* * *

She picked up after a couple of rings. "What do you want?" she said in an unusually icy voice.

Drake was a little taken aback. "Uh, hey, Mindy, how are-" he began.

"What do you want?" she repeated in the same icy voice.

"Um, I was wondering if you wanted to get together and chat? I'm in a bit of a difficult place, so yeah," he said, confused at her coldness.

"Well, I guess I can't turn down an invitation from the magnificent Drake Parker," she said snidely.

"Uh, okay great, so meet you at the Premiere, say 15 minutes?"

"Whatever," was the last word he heard before he heard the line go off.

"Hello?" he said into the phone, but he knew he wouldn't get an answer. He'd heard the sound of someone hanging up too many times to not recognise it. He closed the call on his end, and grabbed his keys.

Time to go back to the start.

* * *

**Okay, at the end of the update before this one, I said that I would put this second part of the interlude out, then follow it up with two more full chapters to close it. Well, I goofed. Now that this interlude is done, I have three more full chapters that have been drafted, and I'm planning on another one after that, which actually will close it out. **

**Also, with the expansion of this fic, it is looking more and more like it will be fully completed by the end of next week. I need time to go over these next chapters I've drafted, plus I'm planning on starting a couple of new fics while I'm doing all that. Tomorrow is the weekend for me (different timezones and all) so I might post up chapter 8 then. Reviews and the like are appreciated :)**


	8. Going Back

**Back with a full chapter! The story is set to get a tiny bit angsty now. Moreso in the next couple chapters, but I'll say it now for this one just to cover bases.**

* * *

Drake pulled up outside the Premiere 15 minutes later, to see Mindy standing outside the entrance. And she did not look pleased to see him.

Drake walked up to her, giving her a small smile. "Wow, you look pissed," he said carefully, "and miserable," he added.

She gave him a glare in reply. "Well thank you, Drake, I can see you never fail to make a girl feel special," she said, scowling at him slightly.

Drake motioned to the entrance. "So, we going in?"

"Uh-uh. Not today," she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him along. "Come with me."

They walked into the plaza of the Galleria mall, and Drake was feeling a little confused by Mindy's cold behaviour, when they came up to a bench where nobody was around. She motioned for him to sit, which he did, but she stayed standing, staring at him.

Drake was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second. "Uh, you want to take a-" he began.

"No, I'm fine standing," she cut him off. "So, what do you need me to do for you this time?" she asked, but Drake could hear something in her voice that said she didn't really mean it.

"Well, last night I came back early from my club circuit in L.A, and I figured I'd surprise Jessica, you know, take her out for the night or something," he started.

"So, there's your problem right there," she interrupted.

"What? Wanting to surprise her?"

"No. Coming back in the first place," She scowled at him again.

Drake felt annoyed by that. He stared at Mindy, shocked, before standing up. "You know, something tells me that you're not even trying to help me here," Drake pointed out.

She laughed at him mockingly. "Well, I'm so sorry," she said sarcastically. "I couldn't help the boy wonder with his girl problems, cry me a river."

Drake was beginning to feel like they had traveled back in time a few years. "Okay, I've been trying not to say anything, but I noticed you don't exactly seem thrilled to be here with me. Actually, you've been acting like a bitch to me ever since I called you earlier. What's going on?"

Mindy shoved him back down onto the bench. "Oh, you actually care, do you? Well let me ask you a question, Drake. What happened this past month?" she glared at him.

Now Drake felt confused. "Um, I don't know what you mean…"

"Nothing, Drake! Nothing. You cut me off! I tried to talk to you, but you were off in your own zone, all 'Jessica this' and 'Jessica that'. And that was only for a few days! After that, you just completely ignored me!" she wasn't exactly yelling at him, but with the fury he could hear in her voice, she didn't have to.

"Hang on, that's not true. I never stopped talking to you."

"You introduced me to her at school on the 5th. That's it. I never heard from you again after that, and don't tell me I haven't tried to talk to you, either! I tried coming up to you in school a few times, I tried texting, I tried calling a couple times. Checked your phone recently?" she asked him, the anger in her voice not fading.

"Okay, so I missed a couple of calls from you. I would've called back."

'Yeah that's what I first thought. But nothing happened. And then you call me earlier this morning, and you don't even say anything about it. No! You just asked me to fix you again, like it was nothing," her voice was beginning to rise now, and Drake could see tears forming in her eyes. "If you were trying to tell me that we never were friends, you couldn't have done a better job, except for actually talking to me!"

"Okay, look, I'm sorry, just-"

"I don't want to hear it Drake! I tried to be your friend, I tried to be there when you needed someone, and you just went and cut me off and left me in the dark!" she turned and ran back to the direction of the Premiere, where her car was.

Drake stood up and watched her run away from the plaza, but he knew better than to try and run after her. He knew he'd lost this one.

* * *

**Tension, and drama, and whatnot. That's what I seem to be doing with this story. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, considering how I decided to work this story from the beginning. So far, it's exceeding my own "lofty" expectations, but that's me. Let me know what you think so far! **

**Next chapter will explore Mindy's psyche really heavily, much more than the earlier chapter did (I think it was 3?). **


	9. Alone

**Okay, new chapter. Ready for a lot of mental and psyche exploration? No? Well, guess what. You made it this far, so get ready :) Taking place straight after the previous chapter, hope you like it.**

* * *

Mindy ran out of the Galleria plaza and headed back to her car, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked back to where she had come from, half-hoping that she might see Drake coming around the corner.

But he didn't. She angrily wiped the tears away, and started driving.

* * *

She had never quite felt the pain of loneliness like this in her life. There had been no one around at all this past month, because apparently everybody these days just happened to be "busy" or "with someone".

Spending a lot of time at home hadn't exactly helped her either; things had improved, but at an awkward pace.

Her relationship with her parents had always been a stressful one for most of her life, but after she'd confronted her mother several weeks ago, they had backed off and let her travel at her own speed. This was bringing her closer to them, but it was difficult, having to remember the impact they'd had on her life, while hoping it would be alright.

Mindy had been fine with leaving Drake to be with Jessica for a few days, simply out of courtesy, but it quickly became clear to her that she was all that Drake could ever think about. During the rare moments when she actually got to talk to him, she tried to talk to him about everything that had gone on, but he had obviously been on another planet, thinking about his girlfriend.

She had let it slide, simply to humour him. But that had all happened in the first few days of the month. A couple of days afterwards, she was introduced to Jessica, and that was the last time Drake had spoken to her up until his phone call earlier that morning.

She'd tried to re-connect with him through the month, but he had never noticed. It had cut her deeply to hear his voice again earlier, especially after he had rejected her call last night. It was even more painful when he asked her to fix him again, as if the last month had never happened and they were still talking to each other. That pain had very quickly given way to anger back at the plaza, especially when he couldn't even properly acknowledge the harm he'd done.

But why should she have expected him to care? All his life, he was the popular one, the "charmer", the one that everybody wanted to be with. But her? Well, she definitely knew she wasn't the one that people wanted to be with. All her life, she had been practically trained to keep her head down, get her straight A's, and ignore other people. And she hadn't minded that at all...at least until that one fateful year.

After her exile to the institution and the first couple of weeks of her relationship with Josh, she'd realised that she didn't want the life she'd had before, and she didn't want to let all these people go. After all, if she didn't want them in her life anymore, then she might as well just go back to the institution, which she had no intention of doing.

She had told Drake all these things herself. He had known about her fears of being forced to be alone again. She had even told him once that he was the closest friend that she'd had in a long time, which she knew was true. But despite all of that, he had still disappeared and left her alone anyway.

* * *

Mindy managed to make the drive home without letting everything on her mind get to her, which felt like a pass mark. But as soon as she put the car into park and stopped it, she felt the tears coming again. She hunched over the steering wheel, gripping it tightly, and this time, she let the tears fall.

She had been so ready to let Drake become such a big part of her life. So ready in fact, that she had made herself blind. Blind to knowing exactly how she would feel when he went and pulled himself out of her life.

She stayed in the car for several minutes, sobbing silently. She couldn't go inside her house and tolerate her parents, not with her heart feeling as heavy as it did. So she took a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and got out of the car. She took another deep breath, and started walking back down her street.

She knew where she had to go.

And she knew that if he was still "the closest friend she'd had in a long time", then he would know where to go as well.

* * *

**So that was heavy, am I right? I liked writing this chapter, because it goes further into who she is as a person. I know that I sort of delved a bit into her private life in an earlier chapter, but this chapter deals with a broader spectrum, outside of abuse, yet still technically connected to it. Fear of abandonment and loneliness are real problems, and I find them very applicable to a character such as hers, at least in the context of how I'm building her character.**

**But I digress. Still refining chapter 10, still working on chapter 11. Not certain about a probable date, but when 10 is posted, expect 11 to follow shortly afterwards. Feedback is appreciated! :)**


	10. Impact

**Well well, what do we have here? It looks like another update!**

* * *

Drake was driving, with no particular destination in mind. He just needed time to think, something that he seemed to be doing a lot recently.

The old Drake would have been pissed off that Mindy had practically refused to help and had blamed everything on him, but that was the old Drake. Now, instead of being mad, he felt wretched. After all, what did "closest friend in a long time" mean to the old Drake? Just words to be heard, and forgotten.

After Mindy had stormed away from the Galleria plaza, Drake had stayed sitting on that bench for about 15 minutes. He spent most of the time waiting for her to come back around the corner so they could sort this out.

But she hadn't.

He'd had no idea that he'd hurt her as badly as she'd made him see. He and Jessica had been together, so he hadn't actually given it any thought. He'd figured that Mindy would be fine.

But those 15 minutes of waiting and thought had brought the harsh reality to him, and showed him how much he had screwed up.

"Closest friend? Yeah right, Drake," he murmured under his breath, mad at himself.

If all the time he'd spent with Mindy had taught him anything, it was that he couldn't just block out how other people felt anymore, especially her. After all, he knew that she didn't exactly have a lot of people close to her, and that she struggled with the idea of being alone.

He also knew that she wasn't the same person that she was a few years ago. The Mindy of a few years ago was arrogant, cold, snide, and very anti-social.

But now, a few years after the whole mess with the car in the classroom and the institution, she'd definitely changed for the better, and Drake had seen that. She had told him that she wasn't the same person she had been back then, and he didn't have to be a genius to agree with her.

The Mindy that he knew now, the girl he had been spending so much time with in the last few months, was an intelligent, sweet person who had been made to suffer alone in the storm that was her life for several years.

Drake caught himself for a moment. "Shit," he muttered, "Am I really thinking all this?"

He pulled into a parking space, and took out his phone, remembering something she had said back at the plaza. He opened his message inbox, and his heart sank. He saw 9, maybe 10 unread messages from Mindy from over the course of the month. A couple of them were along the lines of "what's up?" and casual conversation starters, but as he went through more of them, he saw them become progressively more serious.

The latest of those unread messages was dated from about a week ago. If it had been possible for Drake to feel any worse than he already did, it definitely happened when he read it.

**Why are you doing this Drake? You haven't spoken to me in weeks. If you didn't want us to be friends anymore, you could have said so to my face instead of ignoring me this whole month! But I get the point. If you want to cut me off and leave me hanging after everything, fine. It hurts me, but why should that bother you? You're Drake Parker, after all! Just don't ask me to fix you again when your relationship bombs. –Mindy**

Long, maybe, but it made the point clear to him all the same. And of course, it had ended up being yet another message from her that he hadn't responded to.

Drake knew it might just be too late, and it might just be like trying to put a Band-Aid over the much bigger problem, but he sent her a message of his own anyway. He put his phone down, and leaned back, looking out the window as cars sped past him.

He sat motionless for several minutes, when his phone went off, interrupting his thoughts. He read her message and re-read it, making sure he understood her reply. He fired off a reply of his own and put his phone back down, a little nervous now. He hadn't actually thought she would respond. He expected her to just ignore him, like he had done to her for so long.

He restarted his car and drove. He had no idea how this was going to end up working out, but at least he knew where he had to go.

* * *

**So, the finer points. You'll notice certain aspects of this chapter mirror those of the last one (driving and thinking, etc.). I didn't think actually about it when I was writing the chapter; it just happened to come together like that.**

**I am prepared for unending criticism regarding Drake's character, and how he's more "with it", but that was my intention with his character from the outset of writing this story; to unearth a deeper part of him, and bring it to the forefront. Obviously, as we're seeing now, he's struggling (somewhat) with how much he has changed. But that's ultimately not what the story is about, either. As corny as it sounds, the main concept of this story is the friendship between two people who have been personally fractured.**

**Anyway, last chapter next up! Compared to all the installments so far, it's fairly big, shaping at around 1.8k words. At the moment, it's looking like a Sunday update, so we'll see how I go. Reviews and the like are appreciated.**


	11. It Can Heal

**Final chapter! Here we go! Shortly after the events of the previous two chapters, and also encompasses the events of the previous chapter as well.**

* * *

Mindy was sitting on the bench in the park, relaxing and enjoying the serene beauty around her. She loved this place. Back through the years, she would come to this park to unwind if things at home were threatening to become too much for her. She remembered when she had shown Drake this place.

* * *

_Drake looked around at his new setting in wonder, with a subconscious feeling of respect. _

_Mindy watched him with a smile on her face. "It's great, isn't it?"_

"_Yeah, it just, I don't know, I just feel really calm in here. I actually feel like lying down in this grass…"_

"_Well, what's stopping you?"_

_Drake shrugged, and proceeded to lie down on the soft green grass. He closed his eyes, and smiled._

_Mindy laid down about a foot away from him. "I love it here. I come to this place sometimes when I feel like escaping from everything. You know, home, pressure, all that sort of thing. I just find it really great to sit here sometimes, not doing anything, and just unwinding."_

_Drake sat up and looked over at her. "Are things any better at home?"_

_Mindy sat up as well, and looked back at him. His face was concerned, and that comforted her. "It's more or less the same really. There's not really much else to it. Do you mind if we don't really get into it now?"_

"_Sure, but believe me, this isn't just something that can be swept under the rug. When you want to talk about it, just let me know."_

_Mindy smiled. "Will I ever get used to the new and improved Drake Parker?"_

_Drake laughed. "You better, because he's here to stay."_

* * *

Mindy smiled forlornly at the memory. A few days after that Drake had given her the advice she had needed to hear for so long, but had never been able to find herself.

An alarm went off, interrupting her thoughts. When she saw a message from Drake on her phone, she felt the anger rise up again and threw the phone down into the grass.

But it didn't take long for curiosity to get the better of her, so she picked up the phone and read his message anyway.

**Sorry, for what it's worth. Do you still want to talk? –Drake**

Mindy sat back down, her mind processing. That's not what she expected. She wanted to throw her phone away again, and ignore him, like he had done to her for so long.

But she knew she couldn't do that. With the part of her that wanted him gone, there was a bigger part of her that didn't want to let go of Drake and the impact he'd had on her life. Sighing, she typed out a new message and sent it to him.

**If you really are still my friend, then you'll know where to go. –Mindy**

She put her phone away, ignoring it when it went off again. She didn't need to read it to know what he'd said. Probably something about not understanding what she meant and could she please spell it out to him. It didn't matter. She was expecting the worst to happen at this point. Drake probably wouldn't remember what she meant, so he wouldn't show up. And that would probably be the end of it.

Mindy decided to stay sitting on the bench. She wrapped her arms around herself, and felt yet another tear roll down her cheek. She seemed to be getting more emotional than usual lately, but she didn't have to be a genius to know why.

She loved Drake, and she knew that she desperately wanted the two of them to get past this, but it looked like this was set to end the way that she'd feared.

* * *

"You know, I think I've seen this sort of thing in movies a hundred times now."

Mindy snapped out of her reverie, and looked over to her left, where she'd heard the voice come from. Her heart leapt when she saw Drake walking towards her, out of the trees, across the grass. But she kept her poker face on. She was still supposed to be pissed at him, right?

Drake looked around the park as he walked over. "It all seems a little surreal, to tell the truth," he said, "That's right, I know what 'surreal' means, and I can use it in a sentence. Ha!"

His gaze drifted towards the person sitting on the bench, and their eyes met. He stopped walking when he saw that she was looking at him with a stony expression, not giving anything away. He returned the expression.

* * *

_He restarted his car and drove. He had no idea how this was going to end up working out, but at least he knew where he had to go._

_Ever since Mindy had shown him the park, Drake had gone back a few times whenever the mood struck him, usually to unwind or inspire new music. He had made a point of it not to take Jessica there with him, mainly because she was usually the reason he had ended up going back those few times._

_Come to think of it, he had only been there once with Mindy as well, when she had first shown him the place. Great, another way of showing him how much he'd screwed up._

_He arrived at the park, but he didn't see her car anywhere._

_He looked at the trees in front of him, and started to panic a little. Surely she hadn't given up on him, just like that? He couldn't see anyone through the trees. Maybe he hadn't understood her fully. Maybe she'd had enough of him after all._

_He turned around and was about to go back to his car when he pulled out his phone. She still hadn't replied to the second message he had sent her. He read it again._

_**I hear you. Be there ASAP. –Drake**_

_He impressed himself with how quickly he'd caught onto what she had said to him in her message. Surely this place is what she meant, right? He knew that this park was a big part of their friendship. Well, bigger than the Premiere or school, in any case._

_He pocketed his phone, and turned back towards the park. Sighing, he entered the expanse of trees in front of him._

* * *

Unspeaking, the two stared at each other for several moments.

Mindy made the first move. "Hi," her voice came out, not cold, but not warm either.

Drake mirrored her. "Hi," his previously warm tone fading.

Her gaze dropped back to the ground. "I didn't mean to explode back there, but-"

"No, don't," he cut her off. "I needed to hear it. I should be the one apologising."

She looked up at him, still wearing that poker face. "Actually yes, you should."

He felt a pang of anger at that statement. "Look, I'm sorry, ok! I just..." he trailed off, sighing. He didn't even know why he'd gotten angry. "I'm sorry, Mindy," he said softly, "I didn't realise then… I never realised that I'd done all that… I never thought that... I mean, I'll be happy if we can still be friends, or whatever, but if you don't, you know-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," she said, standing up. She walked over to him, and they both held their gaze on each other. "Drake, at the Premiere all those months ago, you came to me asking for help. You asked me to be honest. And I always have been honest with you, so I'm not going to lie and say that we can just sweep this under the rug and act like everything's normal. I get enough of that at home these days."

Her expression softened. "I'm not going to lie and say that it didn't hurt when you started ignoring me, because it did. It hurt a _lot._ But it showed me how much I care, Drake. About this, about you," she paused, and added with a catch in her voice, "I love you, Drake, and I don't want to end this. That's the last thing I'd ever want to do." She stopped there. She had to, otherwise she would start crying again. She intently watched him try and think of something to say.

But he was struggling to get it together. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really am…" he kept muttering, now looking down at the ground.

Mindy smiled and threw her arms around him. "I know you are, but there's no need for anyone to start spluttering out apologies, is there? It's alright."

Drake smiled and hugged her back. "You know, I never ever thought I would say this in a million years, but, I love you too, Mindy."

They released each other, and he saw that she was practically beaming. "God, the new Drake Parker is such a sap these days," she teased, lightly punching him in the arm, which actually hurt him a bit more than he expected.

"Hey, remember who helped make him!" he winced, rubbing his arm.

She laughed. "Hey, let's get out of here. I do believe that I dragged you away from the Premiere earlier."

"Let's do it." He looked at her warmly as she clasped his hand and they started walking, back towards the trees.

"Um, actually, wait. Hold on." She stopped walking.

"What is it?" Drake frowned.

She looked around, at the trees in front of them, the grass under their feet, and the sun shining against them. This was a movie setting way too perfect to let go.

She looked back at him, and felt pure warmth. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his. He again returned the gesture, and reacted the way she'd hoped, returning her kiss as well.

A movie setting too perfect to let go.

She slowly pulled away, but they remained in the embrace, looking into each other's eyes.

Mindy smiled. It had been a long time since she had felt this complete.

Neither of them were perfect by any stretch of the imagination. They were two very different people, with their own troubled lives, and there was always going to be the hard road ahead for them, but at least now, they could get through it together.

They wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

She'd had enough of talking, but there was one last thing she had to say to him.

"I love hanging around with you."

* * *

_~End~_

* * *

**So there it is, my first fanfic! Let me know what you think!**

**The end of this story came at a good time, because my second semester is kicking off, like, now, and it would have been difficult to throw more updates in over the next couple weeks. With that in mind, I will be taking a short break, to mitigate my workload as well as outline future stories.**

**Note: The second flashback is attached to the end of the previous chapter, but I figured it would be better to have it the way I did.**

**Note: I'm prepared to take any criticism about how (sort of) sappy the ending was, but I'm a big fan of entering fluff-land after macheteing through a forest of angst and serious-faced contemplation, so, shoot me!**

* * *

_**"I love hanging around with you."**_


End file.
